China Evergrande launches employee stock options

Board of directors grant nearly 8,000 senior management employees a total of 744 million shares

After three years, China Evergrande has once again implemented a share option incentive plan to inspire its employees, Caixin reported.

According to the announcement on October 6, the Board of Directors of China Evergrande decided to grant nearly 8,000 senior management employees a total of 744 million shares.

People who received the incentive accounted for around 7.8% of total employees in the company. The exercise price of the incentive was HK$30.2 (US$3.87), which is equivalent to the closing price on 6 October.

This is the third time that China Evergrande has announced an options incentive since its listing.

In May 2010 and October 2014, China Evergrande granted 713 million shares and 5.30 billion shares, respectively, to its employees. The two exercise prices were HK$2.4 and HK$3.05 — far below the latest option incentive.

Shares of China Evergrande have constantly increased this year. The latest closing price was up 500% compared to the beginning of the year, pushing China Evergrande Chairman Xu Jiayin to the top of Forbes China list several times, the report added.